Traditional Aksaray houses with facade layout and decorations

Aksaray province has been the settlement area of many different civilizations in history. The city has religious, civil, administrative, social and cultural architectural structures that meet the criteria of construction and design of different eras within its boundaries. The traditional houses of Aksaray, which are a reflection of the traditional culture contained in these historical documents, also convey the tradition, lifestyle and history of Anatolia to the present day with their design, facade design and ornamentation. The factors that influence the design and layout of these structures, which are historical documents, have a direct impact on the traditional residential facades. With the increase of population, the number of reinforced concrete buildings increased more and more, most of the traditional residential houses of the city disappeared, and only a few preserved or dormant examples of structures have reached our days. The historical houses of Aksaray from the Ottoman and Republican periods, located in the city centre within the site, have their own unique facade features. The most important element of the facade decoration of houses where local stone material was used in their construction is also stone. The decorations on the facades are patterned or simply embossed. In the urban environment, the facade design and decoration of traditional houses primarily attract attention. In this regard, it is important to protect the facades of Aksaray's historic residential houses, which constitute the identity of the city, and to pass them on to future generations. In this regard, this thesis study on the facade layout and facade decorations of traditional Aksaray residences is important. Firstly, within the scope of the study, a literature review and a field study related to the research topic were conducted in the research method. According to the results obtained from written and visual documents, registered civil architectural structures with unique characteristics belonging to the Ottoman and Republican periods located in the center of Aksaray province have been determined. Photographs and drawings of the general characteristics of the structures, facade layouts and facade (visual) analysis, as well as identity cards and analysis tables were created by photographing and examining the traditional Aksaray houses located within the study boundaries. In the findings of the research, it was observed that the structures with their plans, facades and decorations, starting from the building material, have their own originality in the examples of civil architecture examined within the scope of the thesis study. When we look at the stylistic, occupancy-vacancy ratios and Deconstructions of traditional residences, there is a similarity between them. Today, there are still houses that are used without losing their function, as well as traditional houses that have been destroyed or left unused over time. In the final part of the thesis study, within the scope of the research, the general characteristics of traditional Aksaray houses as well as the facade and decoration features were examined in detail and the importance of facade and texture in traditional houses was emphasized and the importance of transferring historical residences to future generations was stated. In addition, the originality status of the traditional houses investigated today and their similarities and differences with the traditional houses located in the surrounding provinces have been revealed.